Lionel Messi verdict on Erling Haaland shows Man City shouldn't worry about Ballon d'Or snub

56 goals and ten assists in 57 games, three major trophies including the Champions League, the Premier League and Champions League Golden Boots, and five prestigious individual Player of the Year awards. But no Ballon d'Or for Erling Haaland after his sensational first 12 months at Manchester City. It begs the question, what more must a player do?

It turns out, the only thing Haaland didn't do last season, was simply not be Lionel Messi, who picked up the iconic award for the eighth time.

Messi dragged Argentina through the World Cup to win the tournament almost single-handedly, and has had a similar effect on MLS's 26th-best side. Pep Guardiola and Julian Alvarez - both people with loyalty to both Messi and Haaland, said that both players deserved to win the Ballon d'Or, accepting that Haaland would win in any other year.

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The controversial decision has divided the football world like the days of the height of the Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. So maybe it helps that Messi moved to congratulate Haaland in his victory speech in Paris on Monday.

“Haaland and [Kylian] Mbappe will win the Ballon d’Or one day,” he said of the second and third-placed finishers.

“Erling deserved it very much too, he has won Premier League, Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too. I’m sure in the next years you will win it”.

City will be content with having seven players in the top 30, plus former captain Ilkay Gundogan, including five in the top ten. They won Men's Club of the